There was a double header at Pinatar Arena on Saturday with Arsenal U18 taking on Villarreal U18 in the early game followed by the French team Stade de Reims against Real Zaragoza I the evening.
In the first game of the afternoon Arsenal U18 faced Villarreal U18 in front of a crowd of about 200 people but it was ‘The Yellow Submarine’ that took the initiative having much of the better of the first period going into the interval with a 1-0 lead following Igor Oyono’s converted penalty.
Following the break we saw a much better performance from the “Gunners” who took the initiative and levelled the score through Sabastian Ferdinand with a low shot.
In the closing stages of the match, however, the balance once again swung in favour of Villarreal with a goal from Republic of Ireland U17 International Caden Mcloughlin, which made the final score 2-1 in the Spanish side’s favour.
In the second match of the day, Real Zaragoza from Liga Hypermotion (Segunda Division) and Stade Reims from France’s Ligue 1 faced off in front of around 700 spectators.
Real Zaragoza had an opportunity to the scoring from the penalty spot in the 12th minute, but goalkeeper Diouf saved striker Iván Azón’s shot.
They eventually did take the lead, however, in minute 32 with a great goal from a free kick by Toni Moya.
The second half saw Stade Reims take the initiative, levelling the score with a goal from Diakite. From then on, the game was played more in the midfield with neither team creating very much at all.
In the 87th minute, however, Stade Reims scored a late winner when Cristian Álvarez’s was unable to do anything to stop Touré’s shot that ended in a goal, the clash ending 2-1 in favour of the Ligue 1 side.
It was another great double header at Pinatar Arena between teams at the very top of their game as they enjoy the Region of Murcia and the Costa Cálida in preparation for the coming season.
